Now the summer residents are full of troubles: this is not only the time of collecting the grown, but also the work on caring for the fruit bearing garden. Our consultant Dmitry Lukyanov, agronomist and vegetable grower, candidate of agricultural sciences, gives useful advice.
August 31 2016
Take your time to harvest the late varieties of apples and pears: the longer the fruit stays on the tree, the better the taste. In addition, fully ripe fruits are better stored during the winter. But you can’t wait for long rains either – in such weather, the harvest of fruits is not harvested, they will not be stored. Ready to harvest signal: bright color, easy separation of the fruit from the stalk and brown seeds. Remove apples and pears carefully, without damaging the stalk. Start at the bottom branches, then work your way up. Fruit to be stored must not be thrown into the basket and must be carefully put back in place. It is convenient to sort fruits into large and small ones right at the time of picking and then put them in wooden boxes or cardboard boxes and sprinkle them with shavings or sawdust. Collect volunteers regularly as they are a breeding ground for infection and pests for future crops.
It was an apple year, and the trees spent a lot of nutrients to grow such a wonderful harvest. Our task is to help the plants recover before wintering, increased nutrition will help the plants grow stronger in the cold. At the end of September, the trees will begin to grow intensively roots, so fertilization must be applied before this date. Top dressing includes only phosphorus and potash fertilizers, it is most convenient to buy a complex mixture marked “autumn”. We distribute top dressing along the perimeter of the crown of the tree (this is where active suction roots are located) and embed them in the soil by digging or loosening to a depth of 5 to 20 cm. Apply autumn fertilizer under each berry bush, according to the norm on the package.
September is good for pruning fruit trees, currants, gooseberries and honeysuckle. This is especially important for old plants, in which many shoots no longer bear fruit and interfere with the development of young ones. The basic principle is this: we cut off all branches that look inside the crown, at the trunk or down, as they interfere with each other. Leave the ones that grow outward and the first years (they have more harvest). When removing, we leave an oblique stump a few millimeters high. Cut out diseased shoots vigorously, they can infect healthy branches. On rainy days, clean the bark of old trees – it is easy to remove moss and lichen from a wet surface with an iron brush. Then all the holes and wounds must be covered with garden varnish.
On young non-fertile seedlings, be sure to pinch the tops of all annual shoots, this will accelerate the ripening of young wood and increase its frost resistance.